Friday 12th February 2010
Committed recyclers in parts of West Dunbartonshire will soon be able to raise their game, with more frequent collections of recyclable waste due to start in April.
Households with blue, brown and green or grey wheeled bins in Dumbarton, Renton, Vale of Leven, Bonhill, Balloch and Gartocharn will soon be receiving a new refuse collection service, which will see a priority given to recycling. Instead of monthly blue and brown bin collections, recyclable waste and non-recyclable waste will now be collected on alternate weeks.
Changes also include the introduction of a food waste recycling scheme using kitchen caddies, and an increase to the range of materials that can be recycled.
A recycling guide will be delivered to all affected homes before the new service starts, with full details of how to recycle, and the revised collection dates. It is estimated that once the scheme is fully implemented, 6000 extra tonnes of waste could be recycled per year.
Households with special requirements will be visited by the Council and assisted during the early phases of the scheme, in order to address any concerns. The Council are also organising walk-in events throughout the area in March, where residents can pop in and see how the new system will work and ask Council officers any questions they may have.
Councillor Jim McElhill, West Dunbartonshire Council’s spokesperson for Environmental Services and Economic Development, said:
“We are very grateful to householders for their recycling efforts over the past few years, which have helped us to recycle around a third of all our waste. However, we are keen to help local people to recycle even more, and increased collections will allow that to happen.
“There are two reasons why recycling more is crucial. Firstly - and most importantly - we have an obligation to preserve our planet’s precious resources for future generations. Secondly, the Council could end up paying Landfill Tax running into millions if we don’t stop sending so much of our waste to landfill.
“I’m sure that the people of West Dunbartonshire will rise to the challenge and recycle even more of their household waste with the help of these extra collections.”
